Some news

It’s mid-winter and Melbourne is in lockdown again due to a second wave of COVID-19 infections, making it an odd time for announcements. But here goes: I have a new job. After nearly three years as CEO of Writers Victoria, I have secured a new role as CEO of Public Libraries Victoria (PLV).

The appointment was made public on Friday 24 July in announcements on both organisations’ social media streams.

Dr Angela Savage is the inaugural CEO of Public Libraries Victoria. @angsavage @PubLibrariesVic @Writers_Vic #librarieschangelives https://t.co/7suSyjX7xN pic.twitter.com/jkZcbfyYH2

— Public Libraries Victoria (@PubLibrariesVic) July 24, 2020

Though nearing the end of my contract, I wasn’t in a rush to leave Writers Victoria. But when two friends alerted me to the PLV role, I felt I had to seize the day. I was absolutely thrilled to be offered the job, and I’m grateful to both the friends who helped me update my CV and fine tune my application, and those in the library sector who helped me prepare for the interview.

I joke that I am moving from Writers Victoria to Readers Victoria — although today’s libraries are so much more than repositories of books. They are, to quote my new employer, a ‘primary source of information and 21st century literacies.’ They are also going through a crucial transition: from passive, product-based environments to ones that deliver active, service based experiences that are relevant to the community’s changing information, content and literacy needs. This makes for a fascinating time to be working in this sector.

Here’s the media release, which was picked up by Books + Publishing and ArtsHub:

Public Libraries Victoria Announce Inaugural CEO

Dr Angela Savage has been appointed CEO of Public Libraries Victoria.

PLV Chairperson Chris Buckingham said: ‘Dr Savage was recruited after an extensive process that attracted a strong field of candidates. Angela stood out because of her intelligent, values led approach and success as CEO of Writers Victoria and Neighbourhood Houses Victoria.’

Dr Angela Savage’s appointment marks another significant milestone in Public Libraries Victoria’s evolution and growth as the peak body for public libraries in Victoria.

Dr Savage said: ‘I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to champion Victoria’s public libraries in this new role. I look forward to bringing my experience in both the community and arts sectors to support our state’s readers, writers and all whose lives are changed by libraries.’

Mr Buckingham said, we have been on an incredible journey of change as an organisation and are now well positioned to support the sector through what will undoubtedly be a sustained period of disruption.

Mr Buckingham said: ‘We are grateful to Katrina Knox who served the organisation as Executive Officer for two years and played a significant role in positioning PLV as the Peak Body for Public Libraries in Victoria.’

Dr Savage will serve out her three year contract as CEO Writers Victoria and then commence as CEO of Public Libraries Victoria on September 28^th.

Mr Buckingham concluded: ‘We are thankful to Writers Victoria for working with us to ensure a smooth transition and look forward to working with them on projects that encourage reading and writing in our community.’

*Ends*

And here is the image description of the above portrait, which was posted on Facebook–much to the amusement of several friends:

Image description: Dr Angela Savage, a fair skinned woman with black plastic rimmed glasses and shoulder length curly, black and grey hair poses for a studio portrait with a black background. Her right hand, with one red resin and one silver ring, is positioned under her chin. She has a large red flower in her hair to match a red earing [sic.] and her red lipstick.